Cyprus rape claim teen ‘was denied a fair trial’

A JUDGE’S harsh treatment of a British teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus will form part of her appeal against her conviction.

The 19-year-old woman told police she was attacked by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa last July.

But when she tried to withdraw the claim, under police pressure she says, the Derbyshire teenager, who the Mail is choosing not to name, was put on trial for public mischief.

She was found guilty by Judge Michalis Papathanasiou in January at the Famagusta district court in Paralimni and handed a four-month jail term, suspended for three years.

Her lawyers, from the Justice Abroad group, have now submitted a 154-page skeleton argument before an appeal to be heard later this year.

During the trial, Judge Papathanasiou frequently reduced the teenager to tears by berating her and refused to hear any evidence of her alleged rape.

Her lawyers said he seemed to ‘prejudge’ the case, and treated the teenager with ‘discourtesy’, denying her a fair trial. She flew home shortly after sentencing.